


Stand By Me

by klutzy_girl



Category: Single Parents (TV 2018)
Genre: Babies, Conversations, Episode Tag, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Kid Fic, Light Angst, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23687011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klutzy_girl/pseuds/klutzy_girl
Summary: Tag toOh Dip, She's Having A Baby. A nervous Poppy sits Douglas down so they can discuss an important, life-changing topic.
Relationships: Poppy Banks/Douglas Fogerty
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Stand By Me

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little nervous about how this conversation will go down next week (per the press release) - please don't break them up - so I set out to write it before they Joss me. Hope you enjoy!

Poppy blew out a breath as she struggled to figure out what she wanted to say to Douglas. She had a feeling he didn’t want more kids and that their conversation might end badly but she desperately needed to talk to him about having a baby anyway, just to confirm where he stood. She paced back and forth, nerves getting the best of her, before she marched into the living room to talk to him. Extremely thankful the kids were out for the day, she sat down next to him. He eyed her in concern, knowing Poppy wanted to talk about something but not sure what. It made him a little nervous. “What is it?” he asked, bracing himself for the next words out of her mouth.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then proceeded to steel herself. “I have to talk to you about something important - and it’s imperative we have a honest conversation about this.”

Wary, he nodded. “Of course.”

“Promise you’ll let me finish talking? No interruptions.”

“I’ll try.” What did she want to talk to him about? He was worried now.

“The other day, when we were in the hospital, I was holding Ron and Sharon’s baby. Remember that?” Off his nod, Poppy continued but she put her hand down. “I want a baby. And before you ask, because I know you’re gonna - no, I’m not pregnant.”

Douglas stared at his girlfriend in complete and utter shock. “You want a baby.”

“I said no interruptions!” she nervously snapped, wringing her hands. He apologized and then waved at her to continue. “Sorry. I know you don’t want a baby - hell, I didn’t want another baby. Rory’s enough for me, no matter how this conversation ends. Just know this isn’t a make it or break it topic - I don’t need another kid but I want one with you because you’re the man I love, Douglas. I must be insane to even be considering this - especially since we’ve only been together for less than a year but here we are.” She waved at him.

“You want a baby,” he repeated.

“Yeah. That’s where we are. And you have three kids of your own and one is fully grown. Hell, I fully expect that you’ll be reading a boat magazine when I’m in labor.” She snorted despite herself.

Douglas inhaled and exhaled a few times as he tried to wrap his head around this mind-blowing talk. “Can you give me some time to think?” he finally asked.

Poppy smiled warmly at him. “Of course. This is a huge, life-changing decision, and I had to give myself like a week to think about it. Had several panicked discussions with Angie, by the way. She thinks I’m stupid for even considering this but was also supportive and encouraging.” Going through nine months of pregnancy again sounded exhausting, especially after watching Sharon, but she hoped Douglas would be a better partner than Ron. 

He leaned forward and kissed her. “I love you.” He then stood up and made his way out of the house to think.

Douglas reluctantly went to Will (and Miggy) to talk to them about Poppy’s urge to have a baby with him and surprisingly, both men’s words of encouragement proved invaluable (although Will also threw out some cons at him just to see how he’d take it). Four days after the woman he loved first came to him, Douglas made up his mind. She sat down nervously when he approached her. “Well, what’s the verdict?”

He squeezed her hand then gave it a quick kiss. “I can’t believe we’re doing this, especially at my age, but I want this with you.”

Her mouth dropped and she gaped at him for a few seconds, trying to process the words that had just come out of her boyfriend’s mouth. Poppy had convinced herself Douglas would say no and her short-lived dreams would be shattered (she would have picked herself back up and moved on as quickly as possible, though). “What,” she said in a flat tone.

Douglas chuckled at the shocked look on her face and blinked. “Poppy, you’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with - I literally do not want anybody else. You’re it for me. And yeah, I’m getting up there but having a baby with you? It’s crazy but I’m all in. I want a kid that’s half of both of us. Little worried about how Emma and Amy are going to take this but that’s a problem for another day.”

She snorted even as she teared up. “Rory’s still adjusting to have a little sister but I don’t know how he’ll cope with this either.”

He sighed. “This’ll be the first kid of mine that will actually be on purpose.”

“Douglas!” Poppy chided even as her shoulders shook with laughter.

They kissed again and ran towards the bedroom.

Poppy and Douglas managed to conceive in about thirteen weeks (shocking even them), and twelve months after they first decided to start trying, they welcomed twins - a boy and a girl. “They’re so damn tiny,” he whispered, afraid of waking the babies and setting them off. Amy and Emma had been bigger.

“Didn’t feel tiny coming out of my vagina,” she shot back.

He winced. “Do you really have to bring that up?” Douglas had even managed to stay with her in the delivery room, surprising them both (Angie had been brought in as a back-up coach early on and also stayed).

“For the rest of our lives together. Damn your super sperm and family history of twins.” She flashed him a fake innocent smile. 

The door opened, and their friends stepped through with Rory, Emma, and Amy (Xander planned to stop by to visit once the three of them were home from the hospital). “Come meet your little brother and sister,” Douglas encouraged, waving them over.

All three of them side-eyed Poppy and the twins. She wasn’t having it and glared at them. “Come meet them,” she told them through gritted teeth.

Unfortunately used to her mood swings during pregnancy, the kids listened. “We didn’t need another brother but we’ll allow it,” Emma informed them.

“What are their names?” a curious Amy questioned.

Rory folded his arms as he awaited an answer. “Please tell us so I can begin monogramming everything.”

“Kids, meet Adalaide Elizabeth and Riley Xavier.” Poppy looked back and forth between her sleeping newborns and tried not to start crying again. She couldn’t wait until her body balanced itself out again and she wasn’t whim to her hormones.

“Good, strong names.” Rory stuck his thumbs up in approval.

“You happy?” Poppy asked her now eldest son. “I bet you’re glad to have a brother when you de facto have four sisters.”

Rory blinked at her. “Now why would I be happy about that?” he shot back, staring her dead in the eye. He couldn’t wait to teach the twins (mostly Riley) everything he knew.

“We have so much to tell them.” Emma sighed as she picked up one of Adalaide’s tiny hands. Adalaide proceeded to curl her finger around Emma, who fell instantly in love with her little sister. “Ugh, fine, you win.”

Amy climbed up on the bed, careful not to jostle Poppy or the babies. “I love them,” she reluctantly admitted.

“At least your dad can’t dress them in identical clothing,” Poppy teased her boyfriend.

Douglas had been waiting months to make his move and knew now was the right time with their family gathered around them. He grabbed a box out of his pocket and opened it. Poppy gasped when she saw the engagement ring in his hands and nodded at him before he could even say anything. “I can’t even ask?” he complained.

“Just put the damn ring on my finger,” she ordered.

He obliged and slid it up, grateful the swelling had gone down a bit. They’d get it resized later. They gave each other a quick peck on the lips as their friends and family started clapping. “That’s a huge rock,” Angie murmured.

Poppy and Douglas wouldn’t make a big deal out of their wedding (although their friends tried to) but they were so damn happy neither of them could stand it. And with the addition of Riley and Adalaide, they were done having kids - neither wanted any more. Poppy would never regret bringing up the topic of adding to their family (except in the middle of the night when she and Douglas were up several times tending to newborns who wouldn’t stop crying).


End file.
